Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal would have happily settled for fifth place at the start of the season - but told his players not to blow an even bigger chance.
Gunners boss Arteta knows Arsenal still have their destiny in their own hands ahead of the trip to Newcastle and entertaining Everton on the final day of the season. But defeat in the North London derby at Tottenham was a game changer for Arsenal and suddenly much of the positivity has ebbed away and it could be a battle of nerves.
The Newcastle game will be a major test but Arteta says that they will go all out for the win because they are not prepared to settle for fifth having got themselves so close to a Champions League place. When asked if they would be happy with fifth at the start of the season, Arteta said: “Absolutely, Yes. It is a good place to be.
“But as I said, It is in our hands we have done a lot in the past few months to be in this position so let's go for it. We want to be playing in the Champions League. And that's the end, we've come so far, as I said, it's in our hands and we want to now capitalise on that, and the excitement and the opportunities there, and we will really want to go for it.
“It's not pressure, it's excitement and, and this is what we have built over the last few months. And as I said, top four is the target. Now, it's in our hands, and we want to deliver that.”
The Champions League would be a game changer for Arsenal and Arteta’s plans. They want to strengthen their squad this summer and the likes of Manchester City ’s Gabriel Jesus are firmly in their sights.
Who will finish in the top four this season: Arsenal or Tottenham? Have your say in the comments!
But if they want to get a player like Leicester ’s Youri Tielemans then they may have to get into the top four to get any such deal over the line. That is why so much is at stake and why Arteta may gamble on the fitness of defenders Ben White - on the bench at Tottenham but still recovering from a hamstring problem - and also Gabriel, who came off injured last Thursday night.
But it also saw Arteta blame referee Paul Tierney for key decisions and then get lambasted by Spurs boss Antonio Conte. Arteta refused to bite back at Conte but did insist he will always defend his players and the club even after Rob Holding’s costly sending off for two yellow cards in the space of six minutes. But he insisted he is no whinger and instead did not want to publicly say what he felt.
Arteta said: “What I have tried to do I think in three years here is not make any complaints. I have no complaint and I didn't complain on Thursday. I just said I could not give a clear assessment on what I thought about the game. And that's it.
“Whatever we do we will try to defend the club in the right way, like we have always tried to do. The other night I tried to do it as well. That was not trying to affect anybody.
“But I was being clear and honest. I think that is my job and my responsibility when I talk on behalf of the club to express how we feel. And if I cannot do it, I prefer not to.”
Arsenal do find themselves woefully short of options and running out of players and legs as they approach the final week of the season.
They let Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang go in January along with the likes of Pablo Mari and Ainsley Maitland-Niles and the latter two undoubtedly could have filled in the gaps had they not been shipped out on loan. But even though Arteta admitted at the time it was a risk to leave the squad so thin, he has no regrets, especially as some were pushing to leave.
Arteta added: “We’ve gone so far with with this group of players, there were decisions that had and have to be made. And it was not just the club or myself but also the players that were in those positions and how they were going to contribute to the team. We tried to do it the right way.
“And then obviously, we've been very unlucky with some long term injuries that obviously have made the situation even more difficult.”
Arsenal predicted XI to face Newcastle: Ramsdale; Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Xhaka, Elneny; Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Nketiah.
